Ever the perfectionist, St. Thomas head football coach Tim Fitzpatrick isn't overly excited about the Eagles' 7-0 start.

"We're beating the teams we're supposed to beat," Fitzpatrick said, "but it's not like we're playing Katy and North Shore."

To contend for the TAPPS Division I title, Fitzpatrick believes his players need to crank it up a notch.

Although St. Thomas eased past Tomball Concordia Lutheran 31-14 last week, the Eagles barely won the first meeting 17-16.

St. Thomas also needed a late defensive stand to hold off rival St. Pius 27-20 recently. Sophomore nose guard Lorenzo Neal caused a fumble that senior defensive end Jairus Pollard recovered in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown against the Panthers with 54 seconds on the clock.

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Hoping for more: The St. Thomas football team is a contender for the TAPPS Division I state title. However, head coach Tim Fitzpatrick believes the Eagles, 7-0 overall and 4-0 in TAPPS District 3-I, must play better to challenge the Dallas/Fort Worth schools in the playoffs next month.

"We're not beating teams convincingly," Fitzpatrick said. "Against St. Pius, we had a punt blocked and gave up some big plays. On the flip side, we didn't have any turnovers. We didn't give them a short field to work with, so that made me happy."

While the Eagles haven't exactly dominated, they are undefeated in TAPPS District 3-I at 4-0. St. Thomas wraps up the regular season against winless Beaumont Kelly (0-8, 0-4) at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, at Granger Stadium, then goes to St. Pius (6-2, 3-1) at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8.

"It's nice to put the pressure on the other teams in our district," Fitzpatrick said.

Offensively, St. Thomas continues to have success with its running game, even without senior Andra Pradia. The all-state running back has been sidelined for the past month with a knee injury.

In Pradia's absence, sophomore William Heck has rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns. He carried the ball nine times for 112 yards and a score last week against Concordia Lutheran.

While claiming another district title is on the list of goals, Fitzpatrick feels it's critical for St. Thomas to reach the next level to battle potential playoff foes such as Plano Prestonwood Christian, Fort Worth Nolan, Dallas Bishop Lynch, Argyle Liberty Christian and Dallas Bishop Dunne.

"The Dallas/Fort Worth schools are tough. Hopefully, they'll beat up on each other before we see them," Fitzpatrick said. "To have a shot against those teams, we're going to have to play better than we have so far."

Grant wins title

St. Thomas senior Harrison Grant was the top medalist at the TAPPS State Cross Country Championships last week at Waco Connally Middle School in Elm Mott near Waco. Grant finished the 5-kilometer race in a time of 16:12.4.

Grant led the Eagles, who were seeking their first state title since 2004, to a respectable third-place finish.